My friends and I, a party of four, dined at Cole's this last Saturday and I was a little put off by the poor response I received from one of the managers after complaining about a couple of our steaks.
To begin with, I asked the waiter his opinion on how I should order my filet mignon so that it would be cooked to my preference since I did not want to hassle with sending it back to the kitchen. I decided to order the filet between medium and medium/rare – my friend ordered her filet medium/rare. Finally, 30 to 45 minutes later we were served. My filet was perfect around the outside, but was almost raw in the center, so about one third I was not able to eat – with a price of $41, I should be able to eat the whole thing. My friend’s filet on the other hand was cooked medium to medium/well, not medium/rare as ordered. Neither of us wanted to hassle with sending the filets back and just dealt with it, however, I did want to make management aware of these inconsistencies.
The manager came out and really didn’t seem to care one way or another. He was very unreachable, there was no apology of any sort, and we received the feeling that he didn’t care whether we ever came back or not. It seemed that their business comes from tourists and based on the menu prices, my guess is they only get very few locals on a regular basis, if any. Therefore, the manager must have felt safe that he was not losing repeat business.
Although in my opinion, the quality of food was excellent, if overpriced, and the wait staff was very good, based solely on my interaction with this manager, I would not recommend this establishment to anyone. If this is the way he interacts with all customers that have a complaint, then this manager is doing a great disservice to the owner and the establishment. When I contacted the chef/owner, it became apparent that he must have been the cook that day and his response was very hostile. So unless you plan on “not” complaining should you have any problems, don't waste your time and money on this restaurant.
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